Pub. 9 2020 Issue 1

7 s p r i n g | 2020 President’s Message M E S S A G E A Change in Momentum? By Steve Yeakel, CAE VACB President & CEO I s it bad form to write about the same topic in successive magazine columns? Perhaps. But the growing momentum behind the effort to expose the reckless behavior of the nation's credit unions compels me to call attention to the newest developments on this issue, several of which have occurred in just the last few days. If there is any issue that deserves continuous monitoring, it's the unbridled hubris of the credit unions and their regulators. Following ICBA's call for Congressional hearings on the impacts of credit unions buying banks and bank assets, the National Taxpayers Union (NTU) joined ICBA in this effort. That's unprecedented. Too often, the best efforts of commu- nity banks to bring to light the potential impacts of a credit union industry out of control are shrugged off as "inside base- ball" and "turf wars." The NTU engagement makes clear that the issues are real and deserving of Congressional attention. Further, news stories posted as I write this column indi- cate that poor judgment at credit unions in New York and at NCUA in Washington, DC, remain central to the longstand- ing NYC taxi medallion scandal. At least 4,000 loans, some of which have current balances as high as $500,000, were issued by credit unions (two of which failed) and were subsequent- ly bought by the NCUA. The day before a group of 60 cabbies was set to meet with NCUA to seek relief, NCUA sold the loans at a discount to an investment firm in Connecticut. Are these really the financial services providers and regulators we want to provide with more discretion and more power? It's apparent that attitudes are finally changing. Even NCUA board member Todd Harper has made clear that credit union regulation should be much more risk-sensitive, especially as it relates to the largest credit unions. At the least, years of all 3-0 votes on the NCUA Board are now occasionally 2-1, and signifi - cant issues are being addressed in a more responsible way. Here in Virginia, the General Assembly has rejected two at- tempts by credit unions to gain access to public deposits. In each case, efforts to resist credit union advancement were bipartisan. That's good news, but the battle will be constant, it appears. So what can you and I do to keep the momentum going? Most importantly, don't give up on this long, long battle. ICBA has created some outstanding resources for you to use with your members of Congress and your members of the General Assem- bly. The easiest way to access them is the link on the homepage of the VACB website. You might even consider briefing local government leaders on the public deposits issue, as many are un- aware that local governments would lose money if credit unions that don't pay the franchise tax, take public deposits from banks, who do pay the tax. The issue is quiet now, but will likely return. Enjoy your springtime!